The Flower of Hope
by AkiraHotaru
Summary: After the final battle, everybody has find their own path. What'll happen to Akira and Tokito? Chapter 6 is up.
1. Chapter 1 Rays of Light

The updated version. Hope you like it.

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It was cold that night. In a forest, a man and a woman were laying awake near a campfire. The woman was gazing through the stars. She was remembering what happened that day.

Kyo and his companions have found a place for themselves. Kyo decided to train at the mountains. Sakuya wanted to start a new live at Nagoya with her lover, Kyoshiro. Yuya went abroad to study about the outside world. Yukimura, Bontenmaru, and The Sanada Jyuyushi went back to the Kudo Mountains and began planning to take the supreme authority. Benitora decided to helped his father in Edo, with the help of Mahiro and Nobuyuki. Julian, his children, and Hotaru went to stay with Anri in Kurama Mountains. Akari, Okuni, Ruru, Santera and Antera opened a clinic and a laboratory to research for the cure to the death disease. Shihoudou open a dojo near the Kurama Mountains, so the An Family tought at the dojo. Shin Rei went to Kyoto in search of knowledge of architecture. The only one who was still at Mibu lands were Tokito and Akira.

"Tokito, do you want to come with me?" asked the blonde man.

"Why should I?" answered Tokito.

"Well, it is up to you though. If you want to become strong, we can both train together in Osaka. It's a small town, but the people are nice and kind. I also have a house there. Think about it carefully" said the man. He turned his back and walked away from the woman.

Tokito thought about it carefully. She made up her mind. "Wait Akira"

Akira stopped. "What?" he asked.

"I… I'll come with you" Tokito blushed.

Heard that, Akira smirked and turn around. "What makes you change your mind?" he asked and put his finger to his chin

"Don't misunderstand. I don't know about the human world and everyone has left. You're the only one who's here, so I'll come with you. Got that?" She said. Even though her voice sounds angry, she was actually blushing. She made her voice that way so that Akira didn't know that she was actually embarrassed.

"Okay then. Let's go. It's quite far, but we'll make it there by tomorrow evening." Akira replied calmly.

"Hey Tokito, are you still awake?" Ask the man. He slept on the other side of the campfire. His deep voice startled the woman.

"Ye…yeah" She replied.

"So you can't sleep too, huh? Too many things had happened today" said the man.

"Yeah" she replied sadly. The truth about herself, The truth about Mibu, The fact that her father died because he protected. All that happened in just one day.

"Try and get some sleep. We're going to have a long walk tomorrow" He said in a comforting voice.

"Okay" she replied.

Both of them slept about 10 minutes later. It was indeed a very long and sad day. Blood, life and tears were shed many times. Even though they were strong, they still couldn't took all the harsh fate. The burden of being the hope and saviour of mankind and Mibu. Even if they resisted it, they were still the rays of hope who shall guide the world into the new future. Their struggle and journey has just began.

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I tried to update this by myself. I realised my mistakes. Sorry, everyone


	2. Chapter 2 Arrival at Osaka

Tokito, Tokito. Hey, Tokito, wake up" Said a man with a gentle voice. He was trying to wake a woman who was sleeping near a bundle of charcoal which was actually the remaining of a campfire.

"Mmmm…." Groaned Tokito. She slowly woke up and rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning, Tokito. Take a bath in a river near there. I'll find some food" said the man.

"Don't you dare to even try to peep. Do that and I'll kill you" Warned Tokito

The man chuckled and said "Don't worry, I won't peep you. Besides, I am blind, you know. Come on now, hurry up. We still have grounds to cover."

Tokito grumbled and headed to the river. The man walked to the forest to find some edible fruits. About ten minutes later, Akira has gathered some delicious looking fruits and Tokito has also finished her bath. Akira was sitting near a big rock when Tokito enter the open ground.

"Oh, you're finished. Here, eat this. You must be hungry" Akira gave a green-colored fruit to Tokito. He took one of the fruits on the ground and ate it.

"What is this thing?" Tokito gave a disgusted look to the fruit.

"That's a pear. Try to eat this. Don't worry, it's not poisonous." Akira said and took a bite from the fruit that he holds.

Tokito took a bite from the fruit. "It's delicious" she said and took another bite from the pear.

"Eat as much as you like. We have to walk for about 6 hours." Said Akira

After eating up the fruits, both of them continued their walk to Osaka. They eventually reached their destination at 6 o'clock. Akira brought her to his house. His house was big and it even has a garden with a pond.

"This is my house." Akira said as they entered the entrance. "Come, I'll show you to your room" he said. Both of them went upstairs. Akira opened a door and they entered it. "This is your room. Feel free to use it as much as you like. My room is just next to yours." He said.

"Okay" Tokito said weakly. She winced as she sat down on the tatami, hoping fervently that Akira had not taken notice of her sudden exhaustion.

"What's the matter? Are you tired?" Asked Akira, concerned about the young lady. He approached and knelt next to her.

"Oh great. He noticed it." She thought. "A bit." She replied and averted her eyes from Akira's face

"Well, that explains her strange behaviour." he thought "Let's eat downstairs. I'll cook" Akira said. He stood up and helped Tokito to get on her feet.

They went to the tatami room downstairs. Akira's house was big but simple. The tatami room was the biggest room there.

"Wait here. I won't take long to cook." He said

"Yeah, yeah... Just shut up and do your work." She said. The young lady sat next to the tatami.

"Such rude behaviour..." Akira thought. "I'll be back soon." The young dragon said and left the room.

"This house is quite nice..." Tokito said to herself. "I wonder how that lowly human afford this house." She said and gazed the room. She walked to a slide door and opened it. The door leaded to the garden. The fragrant scent of flowers filled the tatami room. "The flowers are beautiful." She said. She noticed a yellow flower. The young Taishiro approached it and knelt. "It's just like the flower that mother used to plant." She said. She smiled and remembered the time when her mother was still alive. When Tokito was still enjoying her memories with her parents, Akira opened the door and brought the food with him. The sound of the opened door startled Tokito.

"Oh, you're back." She said and stood up. "Tch. That idiot disturbs my memories..." she thought. Her smiling face changed to her usual expression.

"Yes, I am. Come on, let's eat." Akira said. He put the food on the table. "I could have sworn I saw Tokito smiled just then... She's a lot better when she's smilling." He thought and sat on the tatami. Tokito walked to the table and sat in front of Akira. "Did he saw me smile? I hope he did not.." She thought.

"Eat this. You'll need it to recover your strength." Akira said.

"Shut up. Don't try to teach me, garbage." She said. She was angry, but didn't have the strength to shout. She took a bowl of rice and some vegetables and began eating it. "Hey, it's delicious. I didn't know garbage like you can cook" she said.

"Eat as much as you like. There are still a lot of them" he said calmly. "This girl can be so annoying sometimes…" he thought.

In the middle of the meal, Tokito builded up her courage to ask something to Akira that has been on her mind.

"Hey." She said

"You're talking to me?" He asked

"Of course I'm talking to you, moron." She said. "How foolish can this moron be?" She thought

"You could at least try to call my name." He said calmly. "This girl really need to learn some manners." He thought

"Well, Whatever." She said. "Anyway, how do you afford this house?" She asked

"This house was given to me because I saved this town from rounins 4 years ago." He answered

"So you are sometimes useful.." She mocked. "A town hero, huh? Disgusting.." She thought

"As a human, I must help the others." He said

"What good is it to help those lowly humans?" She said

"You'll see soon enough." Akira said. He stood up and brought the dishes to the kitchen. Tokito went to the garden. Akira realised something and went to looked for Tokito after he washed the dishes. He managed to found her sitting on the floor near the garden.

"There you are. I've been looking for you" Akira said and sat next to Tokito

"What do you want, garbage?" Tokito asked grumpily.

"That's not very nice, isn't it? You must learn some manners, you know" Said Akira

"Shut up! How dare a garbage like you try to teach me?" Shouted Tokito

"Anyway, I don't have any woman clothes. So do you want to go out shopping some clothes first?" Asked Akira

She thought about it for a while and replied, "Okay, I want to see how the humans do their things"

"Okay then, follow me" Said Akira. They left the house and walked to town.

During the walked, everybody greeted Akira. He replied them politely. They reached a store and entered it. A nice looking woman greeted them and helped Tokito to picked the clothes. The woman's name's Mrs. Kitagura. She's about 40 years old and has a very warm smile. After finished shopping at Mrs. Kitagura's shop, both of them returned back to the house. On the way back, they had a little chat.

"You're quite popular among the villagers, aren't you?" asked Tokito

"As I said to you yesterday, the villagers here are nice and kind. The town's small, so everyone knows who's who" replied Akira.

"I think I'll like this town" said Tokito in a very small voice

"Sorry?" asked Akira

"Nothing" replied Tokito

"Can we stop by there to buy some food?" He asked

"Sure" She said. Akira was quite shocked when he heard Tokito said "sure". They stopped by the food store.

"Hey, Akira! Long time no see!" The owner of the store said. He was about the same age as Akira

"Hello, Ichiro. It's been a while." Akira said

"Yeah. Hey, who's that cute girl next to you? Your girlfriend?" Ichiro asked

"Watch your tongue, human!" Tokito said angrily

"Sorry, Ichiro. She has a short temper." Akira said

"What did you say?" Tokito protested

"Anyway, her name's Tokito and she's not my girlfriend." Akira answered

"No problem about that. So, what would you like, Akira and Tokito? Pick which ever you want. My vegetables are all fresh." Ichiro said

"You know what I want, Ichiro." Akira said

"Sure. I'll get it at once." Ichiro said and picked some vegetables. He gave Akira a bag full of fresh vegetables. Just when Akira was about to pay, Ichiro shaked his head.

"No need to pay, Akira." Ichiro said and smiled at him

"Are you sure?" Akira asked

"Yeah. Just take it as a gift for welcoming you again to the city." Ichiro said

"Thanks, Ichiro." Akira said

"Hey, Akira. Are you going to start working again tomorrow?" Ichiro asked before Akira and Tokito left

"Of course I will. The town depends on me." Akira said

"That's a good news. I'll tell the others." Ichiro said

"It's up to you." Akira said

"Sure thing." Ichiro said. Akira and Tokito left Ichiro's shop.

"The town's peoples are nice, right?" Akira asked the young Taishiro

"Yeah. You didn't even pay for this clothes and foods." Tokito said

"They're sometimes too nice..." Akira said

"You are working?" She asked

"Yeah, I work as the head police here." He answered

"Oh, I see…" Tokito said

They went back to the Akira's house. Both of them were living in the same house and in the same town, Osaka, now. Would Tokito be able to change her rude behavior? Would she be accepted in the town? What would happen to both of them and the rest of their companions?

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Thanks to Jun for the correction.


	3. Chapter 3 Suzaku

Here's the updated version.

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Akira had already awaken while Tokito was still asleep. Akira was walking near the entrance while a woman in a yellow kimono came in the house.

"Good morning, master Akira and welcome back." Said the woman as she bowed to him

"Thank you, Suzaku. And how many times have I to tell you to drop the formalities?" said Akira

"It'll be rude of me, master. I heard that you have arrived here yesterday evening. How is the journey?" asked the woman.

"It was good. How about the situation here?" asked Akira

"It's still normal. A few rounins came and stopped by but they did not harm the others" replied Suzaku

"Good. So they can managed the things here while I'm gone." Said Akira

"Although a lot of villagers always asked about you" said Suzaku

"I've heard about that from the others too." He said

"Master, please forgive me because I couldn't made the house comfortable yesterday" she said

"It's okay, I know that you need to take care of your …" Just when Akira was about to complete his words, Tokito walked down the stairs. Heard the footsteps, Akira turned around and said "Ah, good morning, Tokito"

"Mmmm" she said

"Tokito, this is Suzaku. She helped me a lot while I'm gone. You could say she's my retainer" he said

"Good morning, Lady Tokito" Suzaku said politely

"Yeah, yeah…" Tokito replied lazily

"Suzaku, would you take Tokito around the town later?" he asked

"It will be my pleasure, Master" she replied

"Come, let's have breakfast" he said

"I've prepared the food at the tatami room" Suzaku said

"Thank you. Will you do the other things?" he asked

"Yes, master." She bowed once again and went to the backyard. Tokito and Akira went to the tatami room to have breakfast. While they were eating, they had a conversation.

"So, that's your maid… I don't know a person like you have such a house and a maid like her. Although, she's nothing compared to Spade." She said

"Well, that's life." He replied

"I didn't see her here yesterday" Tokito said

"Of course you don't. She only works here until 5. After that, she returns back to her house." Akira replied

"Where's her house?"

"It's near Mrs. Kitagura's shop."

"She lives there alone?"

"No, she lives with her husband and children"

"She's already married?"

"Yeah. She just had her second child a week ago"

After finished the talks, Akira went upstairs and changed his clothes. He went downstairs about 2 minutes later. Tokito and Suzaku were sitting near the garden. Akira approached them.

"Well, Tokito, Suzaku, I'm going. You both take care, okay?" he said

"Where are you going?" Tokito asked

"Work, of course" he replied

"Please take care, Master Akira" Suzaku said

"Okay. Bye then" he said and left them

"Lady Tokito, would you like to have a walk around the town?" Suzaku asked

"Okay"

Both of them left the house and they walked around the town. Suzaku showed Tokito around. Along the way, the villagers greeted Suzaku. They also asked Tokito's name. Both of them returned back at 3. Akira went home at 5.30. When he got home, Suzaku went to her house. At 6, Akira and Tokito had dinner.

"How's your day? Akira asked

"Good." Tokito replied

"What do you think of this town?" he asked

"Well, it's peaceful and nice. But it's nothing compared to Mibu" She replied

"This is a small town after all." He said

"Hey" Tokito said

"Yes?" Akira replied

"When are you going to exercise with me?" she asked

"I have work on Monday until Friday. I'm free on Saturday and Sunday, so perhaps we can fight on those days. You can train with Suzaku when I'm working. She's good with nagimata." He said

"How about my weapon? My Hokuto Shichisei was stolen, remember?" she asked

"Oh yeah. There's some weapons in the storage. Feel free to use any of it." He said

Tokito and Akira were both getting closer to each other. Will they relationship goes further than just rivals?

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Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4 Missing

I'm really sorry for my bad grammar. I've fixed it now. Hope it's better now.

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5 days had passed since Akira and Tokito arrived in Osaka. They were accepted by the villagers, and Tokito's behavior slowly changed. It was Saturday, so Akira did not go to work. A man with blonde hair and high geta came to the town. He has a sword on his weist. The end of the sword was covered with a cloth.

"Excuse me, have you seen Julian?" The man asked

"I'm sorry, I've never heard a man with that name in this town. Maybe you should ask Akira about it." The woman answered

"Who's Akira?" he asked

"Akira is a villager here too. He knows a lot about the outside. I'll show you his house. It's not far from here." She replied

"Oh, thanks" he said

They walked along the street and passed the shops. They reached a house and stopped in front of it.

"This is Akira's house. He's probably inside. I'm sorry, but I must go now. I hope that you find the man you're looking for." She said

"Thanks for all the trouble." He said

"No problem" she said and left the blonde.

"Akira? I think I've heard that name somewhere…." He thought and stared the house. He stood there for about five minutes. Eventually, a woman appeared behind him.

"Are you looking for someone?" the woman in pink kimono asked

"Is this Akira's house?" he asked

"Yes it is. Please come in, I'll take you to him." She said and led the way. She brought him to the backyard. A woman and a man were fighting there. Both of them used a double sword.

"Master Akira, forgive me for disturbing you. You have a guest." She said

Both of them stopped fighting and looked at the guest.

"Hotaru?" Akira asked

"Akira?" Hotaru asked back

"What are you doing here?" Akira asked

"This is your house?" Hotaru asked while gazing through the building

"Are you listening to me?" Akira asked

"It's big…" Hotaru said

"HOTARU!!" Akira shouted angrily

"What?" Hotaru asked and looked at Akira's angry face

"What are you doing here?" Akira asked, still in an angry voice

"I was looking for Julian." Hotaru replied

"Julian? What happened to him?" Akira asked, his voice went back normal now

"He went missing yesterday. Everyone went to look for him" Hotaru said

"I didn't see him in this town. None of the villagers have ever said about this thing" Akira said. "I'll go around and ask the villagers, then. Do you want to come, Hotaru, Tokito?"

"Sure" both of them replied.

They went out of the house and asked the villagers about it. None of them said yes. When they're just about to lose hope, they saw a place which was crowded. Because of their curiosity, they checked it out. They found out that the center of attraction was a man who sold weapons. He wore a strange outfit and he sang a strange song. He also played a shamisen.

"Ah, that's Julian" Hotaru said and pointed at the man.

"Julian? What are you doing here?" Akira asked

"Oh, Hotaru and Akira! Come and join me! Let's sing together" Julian answered

"No way!" Akira said

"Come on, I know you want to sing with me." Julian said as he approached Akira

"Stand back" Akira said. "Let's talk about this at my house, okay?" he said

"You? You have a house? Sure! I'll come" Julian said

Relieved, Akira led Julian and the others back to his house. Julian sang along the way and made the townspeople stared at him. He did not care, though. At the tatami room, they talked about this matter.

"Julian, why are you here? I thought you're in Kurama Mountains with your children and Hotaru" Akira asked

"Well, I got bored with the mountains, so I went out and eventually reached here." Julian replied

"Hotaru, what are you going to do now?" Akira asked the fire controller

"I don't know" Hotaru replied

"Why don't both of you go back to Kurama?" Tokito said

Hotaru paused and answered "I forget the way…"

"Oh god… Julian, do you still remember?" Akira asked

"Hmmm…. Yeah, I do. I am a master at digging, right? Julian said and laughed

"Then, will you take this guy back to Kurama, then?" Tokito asked

"Sure, sure. Oh yeah, Tokito. Let me see your sword." Julian said

"You mean this?" She said and gave him the swords

"Hm… I'll borrow this for a minute. Akira, do you have some forging equipment?" Julian asked

"Yeah, it's in the storehouse at the back." Akira replied

"Okay then. Oh, and give me your sword too, Akira." Julian said

"Here." Akira said and gave him his swords.

"Yap! I'll make these swords the best you've ever use!" Julian said and left

"Hey, give me …" Before Tokito can complete her words, Akira stopped her

"Don't worry. He's good at that." Akira said

"Yeah, even though he looks strange" Hotaru said

A few minutes later, Julian returned with the 4 swords. The swords looked stronger and had much greater aura.

"The aura's great, but it'll be easily recognized. Even a blind like me could know where it is. Can you somehow hide the aura?" Akira asked

"Sorry, but I'm not good at that stuff. Muramasa's good at it. I don't know how he did it…" Julian replied

"But, thanks anyway." Akira said

"No problem. Hotaru, let's go home." Julian said

"But…" Hotaru refused

"Come on, let's go." Julian said and pulled Hotaru until he got on his feet

"Those guys…" Akira said

"Can we continue our fight now?" Tokito asked

"Sure. Come." Akira said

Tokito and Akira fight again until night. A few days after Hotaru and Julian came to Osaka, the others also went there. Apparently, those two told the others about Akira and Tokito in Osaka. Almost all of them visited Tokito and Akira, but Kyo, Kyoshiro and Sakuya came there the most. Even though Tokito's cold at Sakuya at first, she actually got along well with the miko.

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Thanks to the anonymous reviewer, Jun and Flaylda for the corrections.


	5. Chapter 5 Nightmare and Courage

I'm sorry for my grammar. I've updated this one.

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3 weeks have passed since Hotaru and Julian came to Osaka. Since that disastrous day, Akira and Tokito always have visitors on weekends. That tragedy was happened on Sunday. Kyo came to their house in the morning. He came there to drink sake, ate, and smoked. After that, he left. About 2 a.m., Akira was awaken because of loud noises that came from the room next to his. Curious about what was the cause, he checked the room which was indeed, Tokito's room.

"Tokito? May I come in?" The young man asked. He heard coughs from the room.

"Tokito? Are you alright? I'm coming in." He said and entered the room. He saw the young Taishiro was half sitting on her futon, putting her hands on her chest. Seeing that, he ran and approached her.

"Tokito! What's going on?" He asked

"Don't..." she said and coughed again. This time, she also coughed blood

"Blood? Don't tell me…" He said and put his hands on her shoulder

"Yes, it is. It's the Death Disease." She said

"Oh God... Here, lean to my shoulder." He said. The young Taishiro accepted his offer and leaned on his left shoulder.

"How long has this been?" He asked

"4 months" she replied in a small, weak voice, while panting.

"You want me to get a drink for you?" he asked

"No, it's okay. I've been through these many times. I've feel better anyway." She said

"If you said so. I'll tell Akari to come and examine you tomorrow, okay?" He asked in a worried voice.

"Whatever." She said

"Why didn't you tell me about your disease?" He asked

"Like you'll care." She answered.

"Of course I care. You're a part of this town too." He said

"A part of the town, huh?" she said in a small voice. "Is that what I am to you?" she thought. Her eyes slowly closed.

"Anyway, don't hide things as big as this. You can just tell me, you know. I might be of some help." He said.

Tokito didn't answered

"Tokito? Are you listening" He asked and looked at the daughter of Fubuki. She fell asleep on his shoulder. Akira smiled and put her in the futon. He left the Tokito's room and went in his own room. He sat next to a cupboard and leaned to it.

"Like I care, huh?" He said and put his hand to his head. "Of course I care, you are a part of me too…" he said.

In the morning, Akari came to the house to diagnose Tokito.

"Oh my, this is bad. Akira! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" The pink haired woman shouted

"I just knew it at 2 a.m. today!" He protested. "Anyway, what's the result?" he asked

"She has the disease for quite a long time. The treatment's gonna be hard." She said.

"You mean that she can't be cured?" He asked

"Nobody said that, boy. I only managed to find the medicine that slower the effect. She still has the symptoms, but after a long period of time. Maybe she has the symptom today, but the next symptom shall come after a month or more. I still don't know just yet." She explained it.

"You haven't tested it yet?" He asked

"I'm afraid I haven't. Tokito's the first person who had the symptom. Even Kyoshiro doesn't have. But I expect it'll come in about 2 weeks." Akari said

"But, is it save?" Akita asked

"Don't worry. I'll give her a small dose first. If her body doesn't counteract it, I'll give some more." Akari said

"Well, I guess you do come in handy after all." Akira said

"What did you say? Who do you think the one who had treated your wounds all these times?" Akari shouted

"Oh yeah? I've forget about that." Mocked the former member of Shiseiten

"You little…." Akari said

"Please Akari, calm down." Santera said

"Oh yeah. Santera, Antera, Can both of you get the medicine I brought? It should be with Ruru in the garden." Akari said

"Sure, Akari. Come, Antera." Santera said and grabbed Antera's hand

"Okay." Antera replied. Both of them left the room and headed to the garden

"Both of them do get along, don't they?" Akira said

"Yeah, those three help me a lot in the laboratory. Okuni also helps a lot. Although, I don't like her." Akari said

"Oh? They help you? Aren't the one whose helping is you?" Akira mocked the easily tempered Akari

"Why you…." Akari said with her staff ready at hand.

"Akari, we brought you the medicines." Santera said while opening the door

"Oh, thanks, Santera." Akari said and smiled at the girl.

Seeing that, Akira chuckled.

"What are you laughing about?" Akari asked in harsh voice

"Oh nothing." The young dragon said, still chuckling in a small voice

"You…" She said. "Anyway, tell Tokito to drink this after dinner. And make sure she drinks it properly and continually." Akari said and gave Akira the medicine.

"Yeah, I will. What do you mean by 'drink it properly'?" Akira asked

"It's a bit bitter. Oh yeah, if you almost run out of it, tell me as fast as you can. I don't make Hishigi get disappointed." Akari said

"You don't need to tell me. I know it already." Akira said

"Humph. Take good care of her then." Akari said and left the room.

"Don't worry, I will. I swear." He said

Although at first Tokito refused to drink the medicine, but she drunk it anyway. It is for her own sake, afterall. Another week had passed, Tokito still didn't cough at the mean time, which gave Akira a huge relief. But, that night… Akira suddenly woke up. He had a bad feeling, so he checked Tokito's room. He stood in front of the room, and he heard voices with sobs.

"Tokito?" He asked while knocking the door

"I'm coming in." He said and entered the room. There, he found Tokito was half sitting and crying . He approached the lady.

"Tokito? What's the matter? Why are you crying?" He asked and knelt beside her

"I… I got a dream. Everyone left me. Father, Mother, Hishigi, Yu An, Spade, everyone! I have nowhere to go. While I'm walking, I got hit and mocked by peoples. I… I'm scared." She said and cried again. To hears that, Akira moved closer to her and hugged her.

"Don't worry. It's just a bad dream. Your parents and your guards might left you. But we won't. You are not alone." He said and gently caressed her head.

"But I don't have a family." She said

"All of us here are your family. Suzaku, Mrs. Kitagura, everyone. Don't you feel like that?" He said in a gentle voice. She cried again but stopped not long after that. When she became more relaxed, Akira let her go and he decided to left the room. Just when he's about to open the door,

"Akira" She said

"Yes?" He answered, not turning to see her face

"Th-Thank you." She said. She was blushing when she said that. She's so relieved that Akira didn't see her blushed.

"No problem." He blushed. He left Tokito's room and went back to his room and sat at his favorite spot, next to the dresser. He leaned on it and put his hand to his head. In her room, Tokito who was still half sitting, was still blushing. She put her hand on her mouth

"How come I have the courage to do that?" Akira and Tokito both said that at the same time.

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Again, thanks to the anonymous reviewer, Jun and Flaylda. Thanks alot. I'll learn more about grammar. I hope that the next chapter wi;; be better.


	6. Chapter 6 The Summer Festival

Sorry if it took too long. School has started and I have many homework

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It was a hot summer day. Akira was sitting at the front porch. He peered at the garden while holding a fan. He wore a light blue yukata.

A young lady who wore a short blue kimono approached him.

"Akira, do me a favor, will you?" Tokito asked, crossing her arms.

"Depends on what it is," Akira replied and turned to face the young Taishiro.

"Cut my hair. It's summer and my hair's grown long," she said.

Akira glanced at her hair. "Leave it like that" he said.

"But it's so darn hot!" she protested.

"You can tie your hair, right?" he smirked at her.

Tokito 'humph'-ed and said, "What's wrong with cutting my hair?"

"I like your long hair better." Akira stated, then startled. "Did I really say that? Is the heat driving me crazy?" he thought.

"What?" She was quite shocked to hear such a sentence coming out from the blind samurai's mouth. "He can't be serious, can he?" she asked to herself, unable to keep her cheeks from blushing faintly.

Akira finally managed to discard his ridiculous thoughts. "Anyway, there will be a summer festival tonight. Care to come?"

"No way. The place will be full with trashes like you. I don't want to dirty my beautiful skin," she replied proudly, while her real thought was, "If I go to the festival, that moron will see me in yukata…"

"Up to you then…" he said and faced the garden again. "Girls are hard to understand…" he thought, "just what IS the relation between skin and festivals?"

Then he remembered something and turned his head to look at Tokito. "By the way, why don't you wear the yukata I bought for you?" He asked.

Tokito's eyes widened in disgust. "I will never wear such clothes!" she shouted.

"You can at least respect those yukatas. I bought them with money, you know…" Akira said, adding some miserable tone in his voice.

"I've never told you to buy those stupid things!" she shouted again and left the former member of Shiseiten.

"There she goes again…" He sighed and swayed his fan. "Man, it's so hot…"

Tokito went to her room and slammed the slide door. "That darn idiot!" she grumped, "I'll kill him!" she said. She sat on the tatami and hugged her knees.

Then her eyes landed on a bag resting on the desk. The bag yukatas that Akira bought for her a week before. She didn't even busy herself to touch the bag though.

"Mother…" she said, her voice trembling. Her eyes were swollen. "No, I mustn't cry," she said and wiped her tears. "I will become stronger and I will reach his back. I will make him turn around and face me," she said. She stood up and walked to the window, looking up to the endless blue sky.

"So watch over me, Father, Mother." She said.

A woman wearing a peach yukata entered the tatami room. "Master Akira, Lady Akari has come to see you," Suzaku said.

"She is? Bring her in," Akira ordered.

"As you wish, master." Suzaku said and left the room.

Akira couldn't help but wondering about Akari's stopover. "What's that old lady doing here anyway? I thought she's been busy at her lab since 2 days ago."

He was pulled out from his wandering mind when Suzaku entered the room with Akari going after her.

"Hey, Akira!" Akari said and approached the young man, while Suzaku bowed down and left.

"What do you want?" He asked in his cold voice.

"How come you're so rude to your own sister?" she asked melodiously.

"I said I don't remember to have a sibling like you," Akira said.

"You… Is this supposed to be the attitude of the boy who always came running to me whenever he's being teased or hurt back then?" Akari said and acted as if she was going to cry.

Akira sighed and shot sharply. "I've never come running to you, Tokichiro."

"How dare you to even speak that name!!! My name is Akari, not Tokichiro!" she shouted angrily.

"Just use your true name. I feel sorry to your parents. Anyway, what DO you want?" He suddenly changed the subject, because he was really starting to think that she would destroy his house if they went on the conversation.

"Oh yeah, I came to give you a good news." She said with her usual voice. Her anger was put out easily by the young dragon.

"What good news?" He asked.

"I managed to find a way to heal your eyes," she said happily.

"What? How can you do that?" He asked. His expression became serious.

"I just need to get someone's eyes and replaced yours. You blinded your eyes by slashing your eyeballs, didn't you?" She asked

"Yeah, I do. I did it so that I can receive the sixth sense." he said nonchalantly.

"You're such a fool…" she sighed and shook her head.

"What did you say?" Akira glared at her.

"You are such a fool," she repeated.

"It's none of your concern." He said and turned around.

"Huh?" She's confused by the young man's attitude. "Usually, if I mocked on that little boy, he would get angry and challenged me. So, he does change, huh?" Akari said to herself and smiled. "So, do you want to get your eyes normal or what?"

"I'll think about it." He said.

"Yeah, you must. Tell me if you really want to get your sight back," she said

"Okay." He replied. Akari left the room and Akira was alone once again, looking at the colorful flowers at the garden.

"Tokito, may I come in?" Akira asked.

"Just enter if you want, idiot," a woman's voice was heard from inside the room. Akira stepped in, and he was quite amazed to see that the room was marvelously bathed by the sunset light.

"What do you want?" Tokito asked coldly. The young woman was standing near the window, watching the setting sun which could be seen clearly from there.

"Still not in the mood for going to the festival?" He asked and approached her.

"Never. I've told you before! Are you deaf or something?" she shot angrily

"No, I'm not. Well, that's too bad. Meaning I'm going alone to the festival," he shrugged.

"So what?" she said.

"You'll be alone here. Are you okay with that?" He asked politely.

Tokito turned sharply. "Of course I will. Who do you think I am?"

"A human." He replied calmly.

He walked away from Tokito and opened the sliding door.

"Anyway, if you change your mind, the festival is along the main street." He said and walked out of the room.

"I WON'T go," she said.

"...And I will never wear yukata." she added sadly and watched the sunset again.

At dinner time, none of them spoke out a single word. Even Akira didn't try to bring up a conversation. Akira finished his meal quickly and went to the kitchen. Tokito, who was still at the room, looked to the door that Akira just passed to leave the tatami room. Her expression was cheerless. "Am I being too rude to him?" she asked to herself, "and am I being too hard to myself? Will I always betray my own feelings just to be stronger?" She was about to cry at that moment, when Akira suddenly entered the room dressed in blue yukata.

"Tokito, I'm going now." he said.

"Ye… Yeah," She replied.

"Take care," he waved and left the room.

"Her expression… It's so sad and lonely. Am I being too cold to her? All those heartrending memories must weigh on her very much. Not to mention that her guards, her father and Hishigi had died... I just don't know what I should do," Akira thought while he was walking along the street that was crowded with lanterns, children running around, and lots of people with colorful yukatas. The twin dragon of Shiseiten didn't realize that he had already reached the venue. He just kept walking while thinking.

"Hey, Akira!" A gentle voice of a man was heard, calling the boy who was deep in his own thoughts. The voice woke Akira up from his thoughts. He searched the source of the voice, then he saw a young man with his black hair tied up, waving to him in a friendly way. He wore an orange yukata.

Akira approached the man and realized that the man was not alone. A beautiful woman with long black hair accompanied him. She wore a pink yukata that suits her just perfectly. They were none other than Kyoshiro and Sakuya.

"What are you two doing here?" Akira asked, slightly pleased to see his two old friends.

"We heard that they are conducting a festival here, so we came," Kyoshiro replied.

"Both of you are here only for a festival? There should be a festival in Nagoya too, right? So why did you come all the way here, to Osaka?" Akira asked.

"Actually we come to tell you something," Kyoshiro said, realizing that he wasn't a good liar.

"And what is that?"

"Sakuya and I are getting married next week," Kyoshiro said and looked at his lover's face, blushing heavily.

"Well, congratulations," Akira smiled, "and where will you...?"

"Nagoya, of course," Kyoshiro shrugged, still blushing.

"Hopefully you and Tokito won't mind to attend our marriage," Sakuya said, "Oh yeah, where's Tokito? I don't see her around here."

"She didn't want to come, so she stayed at the house," Akira replied flatly.

Sakuya raised her eyebrows. "That's too bad…"

"Anyway, do you know where Kyo is?" Akira turned to Kyoshiro.

"He's still in Nagoya. He never likes crowded places in the first place," Kyoshiro explained casually.

"Oh…" Akira sighed.

Sakuya noticed someone walking silently behind Akira. She smiled. "Kyoshiro, isn't it time to go now?" She asked the medicine peddler.

Kyoshiro was confused at first, but he later understood what the shrine maiden meant. "Yeah, I think we should," He smirked fully.

"Hey, why are you both smiling? And why are you going now?" The young dragon was totally confused. He didn't realize what the cause was.

"You'll see by yourself. We're leaving, okay?" Kyoshiro said as he waved a goodbye.

"See you next week, Akira and Tokito. Bye now," Sakuya said and they both left Akira.

"Tokito? What do you mean by her?" Akira shouted because they were running. He still didn't realized what the two meant.

"Look behind you!" Kyoshiro said while running.

"Behind me?" Akira asked and turned around. He saw a blonde haired girl standing there, with heavy blushes on her cheeks. She wore a white yukata with sakura patterns. The beautiful yukata suits her white skin just excellently. Even her emerald eyes looked far more beautiful tonight.

"ARE you Tokito?" Akira asked in amazement and approached the girl. He was completely shocked by the sudden beauty of the tomboy daughter of Fubuki and Hikito.

"Of course it's me, idiot," She replied harshly, but her face hid a silent embarrassment.

"But you said... you said that you didn't want to come," he said doubtfully.

"It's so darn quiet at the house, so I came here to see how the festival is like," She replied, as harsh as before.

Akira sighed. "She never changes… Maybe I am too cold. I'll try to be friendlier to her," He thought. "So, Tokito, do you want to go around the shop? Let's enjoy this festival," Akira smiled.

Tokito blushed a little when she heard that. "Whatever, now let's go," she said and walked in front of Akira.

They went to different kinds of stores and stalls. They had a great time hanging together. Akira bought her some merchandises which successfully drove Tokito into a better mood. On their way home, they still chatted and laughed a lot.

Then Akira remembered and asked Tokito something that had been bugging him for hours.

"Tokito, why do you hate wearing yukata?"

Tokito became silent. She stopped her walk. "My mother…" she muttered.

"What?"

"My mother loved to wear yukata during summer. Every time I saw these clothes, I have... I have always remembered her," she said through small voice that was so unlikely hers.

"Tokito… I'm sorry. I didn't know," The young dragon apologized, staring at the ground.

"No, its okay," she said, "This is just a challenge for me."

"And what makes you change your mind about yukata?" He asked as they resumed the walk.

"Akari came to the house and try to cheer me up," replied the girl.

"Akari? But I thought she left Osaka already…"

"No, she went to the houses and checked the villager's health."

"That's so unusual… So, what did she say to you?" He questioned, looking directly at Tokito's face.

"She told me to be honest to my feelings and sort of. I didn't pay attention to some of them," Tokito stated, trying not to sound too melancholic.

"Was that just it?" Akira was confused.

"I think…" she nodded. They eventually reached the house and both of them went straight to the second floor to get some sleep. This was a tiring day.

When Tokito was about to enter her room, Akira called her and told her something.

"That yukata looks good on you," he said and quickly entered his own room. Both of them were blushing.

"I've never seen Tokito being so happy like she was recently. She even smiled and laughed," Akira thought. He couldn't help but blushed and cover that by his hand.

While Tokito's thought was, "That yukata also looks good on you, idiot."

--------------------------------------------

Thanks to Jun and Flaylda for the corrections. Sorry for troubling you both.


End file.
